Aside from worrying about the location, the invite list and the costs, I have something else to worry about for my wedding: how to make sure it looks amazing on Instagram.

I see a lot of these perfectly styled and retouched photos on Instagram that look like some brides spent more time picking the right filter than with the groom. Some social media minded brides have told me the Instagram wedding photos  “are what’s most important!” But what about, say, my wedding dress? Or, gee, I don’t know…the vows?

Kim Kardashian’s staged wedding photo of her and Kanye West kissing was the most liked photo on Instagram to date. But to me, Instagram shots aren’t supposed to be perfect. That’s what the wedding photographer is for. Instagram is for party pics. For hands in the air like ya just don’t care, Champagne flowing, jackets off, mouths open, emotions high snapshots. It’s where the life of the party is caught on film.  And that, to me, is what’s most important.

I went to my friend Lynn’s wedding a few weeks ago, pictured above. An amazing affair. Great food. Awesome band. Enthusiastic crowd. In fact, so enthusiastic that many people skipped dinner so they could stay on the dance floor longer. A lot of my Instagram shots are blurry since the subjects wouldn’t stop whipping their hair and doing the Running Man to pause for a shot. But I look back, and I thought, damn, we had a good time!

Lynn, a great advisor to me during my own wedding planning,  says do one thing if you want an Instagram envy wedding: Keep everyone on the dance floor.

“People always remember the dance floor,” she said, adding that aside from perhaps what the bride wore, the one thing people talk about afterward is the music. “No one will remember the food or flowers,” she said. “Just the love in the air. And the entertainer.”

While photo booths are trendy, Lynn said, “I specifically did not have one at my wedding because I didn’t want anyone leaving my dance floor for anything.” Thus, that’s where all of the high-energy Instagram shots were taken.

So, it’s all about the dance floor—not the stupid Valencia filter—to get Instagram envy-worthy wedding photos.

Oh, and a good Instagram hashtag.

“Be original,” Lynn agreed. Particularly when you and the fiancé have common names, like E and I.

What about #mrandmrs300 ?

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